Thursday, March 31, 2011

Jailbreak iOS 4.3.1 on OS X or Windows with PwnageTool or Sn0wbreeze

iOS 4.3.1 jailbreakA jailbreak of iOS 4.3.1 is now possible with both PwnageTool on Mac, and Sn0wbreeze on Windows. RedmondPie -- who else? -- has some handy guides that you can follow for all iOS 4.3.1 devices on Windows, for iPhone 4 on OS X, iPad 1 on OS X, iPhone 3GS on OS X, and iPod touch 4G and 3G on OS X.

All iOS 4.3.1 jailbreaks are still tethered, meaning you'll have to jailbreak your device after every reboot. An untethered jailbreak is slated for release sometime in the next week -- but 4.3 was meant to have an untether, too, and that never emerged.

Maybe Apple's updated security mechanisms will finally keep hackers at bay!

Jailbreak iOS 4.3.1 on OS X or Windows with PwnageTool or Sn0wbreeze originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 28 Mar 2011 06:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/03/28/jailbreak-ios-4-3-1-on-os-x-or-windows-with-pwnagetool-or-sn0wbr/

Kddi Klatencor Koninklijke Kpn Lam Research

Useful keyboard shortcuts for Twitter.com

Twitter.com keyboard shortcuts
When Twitter.com unveiled its recent overhaul at the end of 2010, one of the least-discussed features was the addition of some excellent keyboard shortcuts.

Some keyboard shortcuts only work from some pages, but we'll mark those where appropriate.
  • n -- post a new status update (works from any page)
  • r -- reply to your selected tweet
  • t -- retweet (only works on Twitter profiles other than your own)
  • m -- direct message (but it doesn't auto-fill the recipient)
  • / -- move the cursor to the search box
  • . -- move back to the top of the page, and check feed for updates
  • g then h -- go to your home page (twitter.com)
  • g then r -- see your @ mentions
  • g then m -- see your direct messages
  • g then p -- go to your profile page (twitter.com/username)
  • g then u -- go to a specific user's profile page (it pops up a dialog box)
For a complete list of keyboard shortcuts, type ?.

Now, if you don't use Twitter.com (which is about 65% of Twitter's users), these keyboard shortcuts probably won't work. Every installed Twitter client has different keyboard shortcuts (and some don't have any at all). If you want to lessen your mouse hand dependency, your best bet is to simply head to Google and type the name of your client + "keyboard shortcuts".

For more tech tips, check our tips index.

Useful keyboard shortcuts for Twitter.com originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 18 Mar 2011 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/03/18/useful-keyboard-shortcuts-for-twitter-com/

Syntel Syntaxbrillian Synopsys Synnex

Facebook VoIP?

VoIP on Facebook hasn't gotten much attention, partly because Facebook doesn't natively support it. Sure there are paid third-party apps like the $1.99 Facebook Messenger app for the iPhone (renamed to Fone). However, it's only for the iPhone and doesn't work on PCs. Facebook has become the central place to interact with friends and family, share photos, IM, post comments, so why hasn't Facebook added VoIP support?

Yes Facebook lets you communicate via IM, but why not VoIP? Facebook leverages XMPP (Jingle) for chat, as does Google Talk for both IM and VoIP. So the technology is there to handle VoIP. In fact, you can use your preferred XMPP client, such as Trillian, to use Facebook for Chat. If Facebook opened up their network to XMPP federation, that would truly be the death knell for phone numbers! The average Facebook user has more contacts in Facebook than contacts in their mobile phone address book. Further, if you look at Skype, the very successful bellwether VoIP app, its users also have less contacts than Facebook users. Facebook offering VoIP to it's multi-million userbase would be an instant overnight sensation.

Of course, making a VoIP call using Facebook via a browser isn't your typical user experience. Most users expect a standalone application like Skype. However, Google's Gmail has had integrated VoIP calling since August of 2010. If Google is going VoIP over a browser, then surely they will increase market awareness of this capability. Not to mention the various browser VoIP apps based on Adobe Flash. Also, users are starting to use mobile versions of Facebook even more than PC/Mac browser-based versions. (Though desktop usage of Facebook still leads mobile usage.) So Facebook could have a nice UI that allows you to make free VoIP calls over your mobile phones WiFi or 3G connection simply by selecting one of your Facebook contacts. I should note that a Facebook VoIP button was reportedly seen in the wild back in January, but so far nothing has come of it.

Apple is getting serious about VoIP and video calling. If Facebook doesn't move now they can lose a huge opportunity. Apple's FaceTime application maps email addresses directly to a Facetime user, essentially acting as a large SIP registrar or ENUM registry if you will. You can make VoIP/video calls from your iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad simply by "FaceTiming" your contact. No phone numbers to memorize, no special software to install. The firmware for these devices support FaceTime so its pretty seamless. They even launched Facetime for Mac late last year so you can also FaceTime from your Mac. Apple has a large, loyal fan base, but Facebook dwarfs even Mighty Apple.

I should add that Vonage launched their Vonage Mobile application for Facebook back in 2010. Their service allows users to make free mobile calls to all of their Facebook friends who have the app as well.

Look at all these 3rd party VoIP apps for Facebook. The big winner is FriendCaller with 66,251 monthly users. The others aren't even close, except for Alec Saunder's Calliflower conferencing / collaboration service with 1,509:

 
Calliflower is the World's Easiest Way to Meet Online. Includes Conference Calls, Document Sharing and more.
1,509 monthly active users
by iCall, Inc.
Make free phone calls from within your web browser on facebook.
77 monthly active users
 
by Google Inc.
No reviews
Google Talk is a free Windows and web-based application for instant messaging and voice over internet protocol (VoIP), offered by Google Inc.
63 monthly active users
by C2Call GmbH
The ultimate facebook VoIP WebPhone! Talk to all your friends for FREE through FriendCaller straight from your facebook account.
66,251 monthly active users

by Triana Group
Skype is a free VoIP service that will bring you closer together to your friends. You can make calls from right inside Facebook -- join now and see who's online!
38,589 monthly active users  
by B@ktun Software
Hello – Hello! Or should we say LO-LO!
Is a peer-to-peer (p2p) voip platform to communicate through a voice call by simply pointing and clicking on the “call” links next to your newsfeed entries below each one of your contact’s Facebook profile.
282 monthly active users
by Saloob, Inc
Flashphone is the world's first VOIP Flashphone.
10 monthly active users
by Rechargespot Limited | Supreme Option Technologies
No reviews
Rechargespot is a community where mobile phone users can earn FREE recharge cards, make FREE VOIP calls, send FREE SMS and do fun stuff.
14 monthly active users
No reviews
This application shows within your profile if you have a SIP device currently logged into the VoIP User server and are available to take calls. The application page also shows a Google Map with your current location based on our IP geo-targetting.
11 monthly active users 

FriendCaller has a decent userbase, but I just tested it and it's still a bit of a kludge to make a VoIP call to a Facebook friend. It's not a seamless 1-click experience. In any event, as seen above, third-parties are enabling VoIP for Facebook, while Facebook stays eerily quiet.

Surely, someone would have asked Mark Zuckerberg by now about VoIP for Facebook. The closest I found was a TechCrunch interview about a rumored Facebook "phone". Everyone was abuzz about the potential for a Facebook phone. In the interview, Mark said:

Continue reading Facebook VoIP?...

Tags: , , , , Related tags: , , , , ,

Related Entries
  • Hoot.me Wins SMS Voting Contest at StartupCamp3 at ITEXPO - Feb 09, 2011
    itexpo-logo.jpg
  • FaceFlow Video Conferencing Uses Just a Browser - Jan 11, 2011
    faceflow-video-call.jpg
  • New Business Version of Skype for Windows Gets Group Video Calling - Jan 10, 2011
  • Skype 5.0 Beta for Mac Launches - Nov 04, 2010
  • Skype Meets Facebook - But Not Without Problems - Oct 14, 2010
    skype-facebook.jpg
  • Vonage Mobile app for Facebook Launches - Aug 04, 2010
    vonage-app-for-facebook.jpg
  • fring Video Calling Over 3G on iPhone 4 - Jul 09, 2010
    iPhone_Evo_Video.png
  • Nimbuzz for Blackberry Launches - Dec 03, 2009
    nimbuzz-blackberry.jpg
  • fring Brings Video calls to iPhone and iPod touch - Dec 01, 2009
    fring-iphone.jpg
  • NimbuzzOut Launches - Nov 09, 2009
    nimbuzz-iphone-dialpad.jpg
  • TrackBacks | Comments | Tag with del.icio.us | VoIP & Gadgets Blog Home | Permalink: Facebook VoIP?

    Copyright VoIP & Gadgets Blog

    Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/voipgadgets/~3/FX3Xw-IkPH8/facebook-voip.asp

    Lm Ericsson Logitech International Mcafee Maximus

    David Braben: An Elite gamer

    It's BAFTA night - no, not one of those little affairs involving Hollywood stars or soap actors, but the video games version. It's the biggest awards ceremony of the year for an industry which is becoming more important to our economy than movies or music.

    David Braben

    And, while the BBC does of course take an impartial view of these matters, I am hoping that someone who represents the best of Britain's games sector walks away with at least one of those golden masks.

    David Braben's company, Frontier, has been nominated for two BAFTAs for its work on Kinectimals, a family game which was one of the launch titles for Microsoft's Xbox Kinect system. I spent a hugely enjoyable afternoon at the firm's Cambridge offices with David, discussing the science which goes into games, his worries about whether Britain is producing enough of those scientists, and finally persuading him to have a quick play with something which, nearly 30 years ago, took the art of gaming onto a whole new level.

    For a whole generation, Elite, created by Braben and his fellow Cambridge student Ian Bell, is what first turned them into gamers, hunched over their BBC Micros for hours at a time. Its 3D graphics, its open-ended nature, its creation of a virtual world and an in-game currency - all foreshadowed the way the industry would develop.

    But, while it was great to get a quick demo of Elite from its co-creator, I'd really come to talk about the present. Frontier stands out as one of the few British games developers competing with the big players on the major platforms while retaining its independence.

    In order to see this content you need to have both Javascript enabled and Flash installed. Visit BBC Webwise for full instructions. If you're reading via RSS, you'll need to visit the blog to access this content.


    While many great games are still made in the UK, much of the industry is now foreign-owned and that leaves its workforce vulnerable when the games business goes through one of its periodic downturns, and head offices in California or Paris are looking for savings.

    David Braben stayed in Cambridge after graduating and in 1994 founded the business he still runs. "It's a really good place to be based because of the university", he explained. The company, which now employs more than 200 people, seeks out students in computer science, maths, and physics as potential employees.

    You might think that Kinectimals, a game that allows children to adopt an animal and go on adventures, was a pretty simple affair, not requiring much science. Not a bit of it. A team of more than 100 worked on it for 16 months, and making the animals move in a realistic manner involved some heavy lifting: "There's all the science and maths of the skeleton tracking," Braben explained "There's also modelling and drawing the movements, the physics of how the skeleton works."

    As well as the scientists, making the game also required people with what the boss called more "touchy feely" skills - designers, writers, artists, animators. Our universities churn out plenty of them, but Braben's concern is of a growing skill shortage in the sciences: "A real problem is there are way fewer graduates coming through the system now than there were five years ago," he explained. "Computer scientists are down by a factor of two."

    Creating video game

    But Braben is not the type to sit around moaning about the industry's problems, or obsessing about the need for tax credits - he's doing something about it. He and some friends in the Cambridge technology sector are looking at ways of reintroducing into schools the kind of basic programming skills he learned, and which seem to have disappeared in an ICT curriculum which teaches how to handle Microsoft Office and little else.

    They've a cunning plan for a very cheap programmable device which could fire young imaginations today in the way the BBC Micro and Elite did 30 years ago. More on that in due course.

    For now, good luck to all the nominees at the games BAFTAs, but especially to Frontier, which is showing how British science and creativity can combine to create something we can be just as proud of as The King's Speech.

    Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/thereporters/rorycellanjones/2011/03/david_braben_-_an_elite_gamer.html

    Nanya Technology Nii Holdings Nikon Nintendo

    Wednesday, March 30, 2011

    Thunderbolt owners: Are you keeping it? Or sending it packing?

    HTC-Thunderbolt

    If you were one of the many that rushed out to grab a HTC Thunderbolt for yourself, your 14-day return policy is rapidly approaching as you probably know. We have seen some issues arise, along with some fixes, some battery life issues, and some ways to help the battery life, and at the end of the day, the experience seems different for each user. So, our forums members would love to know, will you be keeping your HTC Thunderbolt, or have you decided to wait and see what else will be coming? Be sure to hop in the forums to cast your vote and let us know why!

    Thunderbolt owners: Are you keeping it? Or sending it packing? posted originally by Android Central

    Sponsored by Android Cases and Accessories


    Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/Uhn8yNVDB_o/thunderbolt-owners-are-you-keeping-it-or-sending-it-packing

    Saic Rockwell Automation Rf Micro Devices Red Hat

    Forum Post: Networking - TCP Chimney and VMQ

    It was mentioned that with 2008 R2 it is recommended to disable TCP Chimney and use VMQ instead.  Do you have any articles that you can point me to stating that?

    Source: http://borntolearn.mslearn.net/hyper/f/342/p/98017/140908.aspx#140908

    Cisco Systems Cognizant Tech Solutions Comcast Commscope

    Forum Post: Posting from IE 9

    Finally got this to work - you need to switch to Compatibity View.

    Source: http://borntolearn.mslearn.net/forums/f/29/p/95050/137882.aspx#137882

    Volt Information Sciences Vishay Intertechnology Virgin Media Viewsonic

    Heuristics?Programs that Learn

    How do we learn? How do we develop strategy in games, in work, in our daily lives? We store information and we use information from the past to decide what will happen in the future. In software we use heuristics to create software that learns. Recently I found a great example of a program that learns. It plays Rock Paper Scissors (also known as Rochambeau) and it can be found at the New Your Times interactive web site - Rock-Paper-Scissors: You vs. the Computer 

    image

    I wrote about a simple program to allow two players to play Rock Paper Scissors against each other a while back but this program at the NY Times site pits a human against a computer. The user has a choice between playing a ?novice? version that gradually learns how you play from actually playing against you and an ?expert? version that uses the accumulated ?wisdom? of playing over 200,000 games against human players. I elected to play the novice in the example above. I think it would have gotten better over time of course. I on the other hand was trying to figure out how ?it? was thinking and I think that is why I was able to hold my own against it. Well for 21 rounds or so.

    This program allows the user/player to see what the computer is ?thinking.? This makes the software a great learning tool. It lets you see how it uses and searches data, how it makes assumptions based on past performance and concludes what it should play. It assumes that people fall into patterns which is generally a safe assumption. I don? t think it takes into account how the human is evaluating it though. In real life, in live games, humans take into account more then just patterns. Good Rock Paper Scissors players also look at body language. The look at how the opponent responds to what they play. It?s as much art as science. This makes me wonder how increases in technology, think Kinect, will allow computers to respond to how we say and do things (which is what people do) and not just what they say and do.

    This is not the only way to program a computer to play Rochambeau of course. One could have a computer just pick random plays. It would be interesting to see how that turns out given that computers, while not completely random, are generally more random than people are in things like this. That would make an interesting little project. In theory with absolute randomness each player would win the same number of times with a third of the games resulting in a tie. Rock, Paper, Scissors, Lizard, Spock would have a different outcome and I have no idea what that would be. I could see students looking at different strategies from random to heuristic with something in the middle that models how they play the game. It would be fun to have students write their own artificial intelligence modules and pit them against each other. Not sure this fits in a first course though. It would be interesting for post APCS exam students though. Anyone tried something like this?



    Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ComputerScienceTeacher/~3/mMRU_nhAYHM/heuristics-programs-that-learn.aspx

    Satyam Computer Services Ses Shaw Communications Siemens

    Tuesday, March 29, 2011

    IDC fails to learn from previous mistakes, issues 2015 smartphone predictions

    The stat guardians at IDC are among the most reliable sources for keeping track of the latest developments in the smartphone market, but we've got to say their forecasts haven't always benefited from the same accuracy. It's with this disclaimer that we present you the world of 2015 as seen through the IDC prism. In just four years' time, says the data, Windows Phone 7 (or whatever version it reaches by then) will have ascended to occupy a fifth of the market and second spot overall behind Android, whose leading position is expected to stabilize somewhere around the 45 percent mark. Apple and RIM are projected to hold steady with shares close to where they are today. It has to be humbling for the IDC, which predicted Symbian would continue to dominate all the way into 2013, to now have to foretell of its almost complete extinction (a mere 0.2 percent) and total irrelevance in the smartphone market. Alas, while the new prediction sounds very reasonable today, four years of unknown unknowns is a mighty long time to try and forecast through, and we have a feeling we'll be looking back and chuckling at this within a few short months -- probably (hopefully!) in the midst of a massive webOS revival.

    Continue reading IDC fails to learn from previous mistakes, issues 2015 smartphone predictions

    IDC fails to learn from previous mistakes, issues 2015 smartphone predictions originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 29 Mar 2011 09:19:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

    Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

    Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/03/29/idc-fails-to-learn-from-previous-mistakes-issues-2015-smartphon/

    National Semiconductor National Instruments Motorola Moodys

    New XNA Jump Start Mini-course

    Microsoft recently released a new XNA Jump Start Mini-course.

    Programming with C# and XNA 0.5: Jump Start is an exciting and engaging 4-5-week introduction to simulation and game programming using the C# language and XNA Game Studio designed for students who have fundamental programming experience. The lesson materials assume prior knowledge of basic programming concepts such as data types, variables, conditionals, loops, and arrays within the context of an object-oriented language. Students with Java programming experience will be able to quickly and easily transition to C#. The curriculum package contains a curriculum syllabus, lesson plans, demonstration projects, video tutorials, lab assignments, student activities, and assessment tools with keys and exemplars. The student-directed learning resources support independent learning and free teachers to focus on pedagogy and student assessment.

    Download today https://www.facultyresourcecenter.com/curriculum/pfv.aspx?ID=8758 I

    Update: I'm hearing problems of "path too long" issues on unpacking the ZIP file. We're working on this but in the mean time, the fastest/easiest solution is to change the name of the zip file to just a letter or 2 and save on the desktop.

    Update: We have shortened the names of some of the files and directories so much of this problem should go away. Just don't unzip it too deeply. You may want to unzip it on the desktop and move it later to be safe. Sorry about the issues.



    Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ComputerScienceTeacher/~3/mpDRw5Y0Oh0/new-xna-jump-start-mini-course.aspx

    Rockwell Automation Rf Micro Devices Red Hat Radisys

    New version of Tesco Recipes for iPad now live on App Store

    Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/NickLansleysTechnologyForTescocomBlog/~3/zGllL_H9I5c/new-version-of-tesco-recipes-for-ipad.html

    Fei Company Fairchild Semiconductor International Fair Isaac Factset Research Systems

    Heuristics?Programs that Learn

    How do we learn? How do we develop strategy in games, in work, in our daily lives? We store information and we use information from the past to decide what will happen in the future. In software we use heuristics to create software that learns. Recently I found a great example of a program that learns. It plays Rock Paper Scissors (also known as Rochambeau) and it can be found at the New Your Times interactive web site - Rock-Paper-Scissors: You vs. the Computer 

    image

    I wrote about a simple program to allow two players to play Rock Paper Scissors against each other a while back but this program at the NY Times site pits a human against a computer. The user has a choice between playing a ?novice? version that gradually learns how you play from actually playing against you and an ?expert? version that uses the accumulated ?wisdom? of playing over 200,000 games against human players. I elected to play the novice in the example above. I think it would have gotten better over time of course. I on the other hand was trying to figure out how ?it? was thinking and I think that is why I was able to hold my own against it. Well for 21 rounds or so.

    This program allows the user/player to see what the computer is ?thinking.? This makes the software a great learning tool. It lets you see how it uses and searches data, how it makes assumptions based on past performance and concludes what it should play. It assumes that people fall into patterns which is generally a safe assumption. I don? t think it takes into account how the human is evaluating it though. In real life, in live games, humans take into account more then just patterns. Good Rock Paper Scissors players also look at body language. The look at how the opponent responds to what they play. It?s as much art as science. This makes me wonder how increases in technology, think Kinect, will allow computers to respond to how we say and do things (which is what people do) and not just what they say and do.

    This is not the only way to program a computer to play Rochambeau of course. One could have a computer just pick random plays. It would be interesting to see how that turns out given that computers, while not completely random, are generally more random than people are in things like this. That would make an interesting little project. In theory with absolute randomness each player would win the same number of times with a third of the games resulting in a tie. Rock, Paper, Scissors, Lizard, Spock would have a different outcome and I have no idea what that would be. I could see students looking at different strategies from random to heuristic with something in the middle that models how they play the game. It would be fun to have students write their own artificial intelligence modules and pit them against each other. Not sure this fits in a first course though. It would be interesting for post APCS exam students though. Anyone tried something like this?



    Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ComputerScienceTeacher/~3/mMRU_nhAYHM/heuristics-programs-that-learn.aspx

    Vishay Intertechnology Virgin Media Viewsonic Verisign

    Monday, March 28, 2011

    Firefox 3.6.16 and 3.5.18 security updates released as Firefox 4 launches

    firefoxJust because the shiny, new Firefox 4 is now ready for downloading by the general public doesn't mean Mozilla is turning its back on users who can't (or don't want to) upgrade. Security is a big priority, and 3.X users will continue to see patches for quite some time.

    In fact, both Firefox 3.6 and 3.5 received security updates in tandem with the Firefox 4 release. The new versions blacklist a handful of invalid HTTPS certificates which were issued by Comodo.

    Firefox's internal update mechanism should take care of the process for you, but you can always give it a push by clicking Help > Check for Updates. Mozilla does urge users to upgrade to Firefox 4, and there's really no reason not to. If you're ready to make the move, just visit getfirefox.com and you'll be offered the correct version for your operating system.

    Firefox 3.6.16 and 3.5.18 security updates released as Firefox 4 launches originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 23 Mar 2011 08:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

    Permalink | Email this | Comments

    Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/03/23/firefox-3-6-16-and-3-5-18-security-updates-released-as-firefox-4/

    Intersections International Rectifier International Game Technology International Business Machines (Ibm)

    Blog Post: Um guia de recursos da plataforma Windows Azure

    Ol� pessoal, tudo certo?

    Nos �ltimos posts, falei de arquitetura em N-Camadas com .NET 4.0 e para Windows Azure. Por�m, podemos ainda pensar nas v�rias capacidades que uma aplica��o necessita, em suas v�rias camadas.

    O desenho abaixo � uma atualiza��o sobre essas capacidades, e como o Windows Azure atende cada conjunto de necessidades, veja:

    image

    Assim, temos capacidades sobre:

    • Storage / Armazenamento
    • Compute / Poder de computa��o / execu��o
    • Data / Tratamento de dados
    • Connectivity / Conectividade / Barramentos
    • Security / Seguran�a / Autentica��o / Autoriza��o
    • Frameworks / API?s e recursos locais para o desenvolvimento de aplica��es
    • Application Server / Servidor de Aplica��es e plataforma

    Veja em cada camada os recursos e componentes da plataforma Azure, que oferecem funcionalidades para o desenvolvedor, na constru��o de uma aplica��o para o Azure. Aproveite esse mapa para guiar seus estudos sobre a plataforma. Praticamente todos os componentes est�o aqui representados.

    Por enquanto � s�! At� o pr�ximo post :)

    Waldemir.

    Source: http://blogs.msdn.com/b/wcamb/archive/2011/03/28/um-guia-de-recursos-da-plataforma-windows-azure.aspx

    Logitech International Mcafee Maximus Mantech International